Vishen Lakhiani’s 8 Books To Revolutionize Your Life

Mindvalley Founder Vishen Lakhiani picks 8 books that help you hit the reset button and optimise key areas of your life and personal development.

by Caitlin Schiller | Sep 12 2016

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Mindvalley academy founder and cultural iconoclast Vishen Lakhiani doesn’t play by the rules — in fact, he thinks they’re garbage. That’s why, in his new book, he coined an entirely new term for them: “Brules” or “bullsh*t rules.” The Code of the Extraordinary Mind has much more to offer than mere neologisms, however: in it, Lakhiani urges us to intently examine the ways in which we move through and interact with the world around us in order to discover optimum patterns of living, thinking, and learning that suit us as individuals.

Lakhiani’s work—from online academy Mindvalley to his Afest conference to his new book—constantly dares us to question the status quo. He challenges us to adopt principles that make sense rather than simply adhering to those pre-programmed in our minds by the environment.

We spoke to him last week on the podcast about how he shakes up his thinking to go beyond the realm of the expected, and he gave us some tips. Now, here, Lakhiani has also drawn up a reading list beyond his own book. These 8 must-reads will help hit the refresh button on how we view key aspects of our lives, from friendship, to work, to happiness.

This one is a classic—and one of Lahkhiani’s top picks!—with good reason. How to Win Friends & Influence People was written by the man who pioneered the self-help genre and presents easy-to-follow rules on how to have people at “Hello!” Carnegie delivers his tips with undeniable charm and backs them up with colorful anecdotes from the lives of famous cultural figures such as former US presidents.

The autobiography of self-made businessman Richard Branson (he of Virgin Group fame) details his adventurous path to success, starting with dropping out of school, founding a record label, and crossing the Atlantic on a speedboat! No big deal, right? The core of the book is about how cleverness, determination, and an adventurous mindset can lead to unprecedented success.

Professor and leadership consultant David Schwartz shows how achieving our best begins and ends with believing in ourselves. In this book, Schwartz unveils a methodology for muscling up our self worth through sharpening our creative skills, thinking positive thoughts, and more unassumingly simple steps that help us and our projects shine.

You may not have read this one yet, but you can’t have avoided hearing all the buzz. The Bulletproof Diet is a secret weapon for sweeping out toxins and rebooting energy and health. Vishen stands by Dave Asprey’s Bullteproof Coffee recipe (that’s your standard brew, made unstandard with coconut oil and, yes, butter!), and the healthy eating tips contained therein.

Adam Grant—award-winning consultant, writer, and Wharton School professor—has helped Google, Goldman Sachs, and Disney Pixar level up their human resources and management practices by honoring the original thinking in their organizations. In Originals, he explores where great ideas come from and offers helpful guidelines for identifying truly novel ideas, making it easier for all of us to reach our creative potential.

Tim Ferriss’s tremendously popular The 4-Hour Workweek was a revolutionary bestseller when it was first published, and remains just as captivating today. In it, Ferriss describes how to streamline, automate, and optimize in order to spend less time working and more time living. This is a book for anybody who believes that it’s possible to do more with less.

Tony Hsieh, legendary CEO of Zappos.com, details how living a life of passion and purpose can infuse our work lives, personal lives, and the lives of the people we touch with joy. The book offers an alternative approach to corporate culture, telling the story of Hsieh and Zappos to illustrate how passion is the real road to profit.

Mustering the bravery to show the world our creative ideas isn’t always easy. Writer Steven Pressfield knows this—and he’s got just the thing to help us win the battle against the fear and self doubt that hold us back. This book offers an examination of the negative forces that keep us from realizing our dreams and shows how we can bust through insecurity to achieve our greatest creative goals.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Caitlin Schiller

Caitlin works on the podcast and copy at Blinkist. She’s been writing for digital – agency side and freelance – for more than a decade. Caitlin studied English and Spanish literature and has lived in a handful of countries, where she’s eaten all the delicious things and picked up odd lexical delights.

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Blinkist is an app that transforms key insights from great nonfiction books into quick, easy-to-understand highlights. The reality is – everyone loves reading, but no one has the time. Blinkist fills this learning gap and makes acquiring new knowledge effortless.

Start your free trial with Blinkist

Start your free trial with Blinkist

What is Blinkist?

Blinkist is an app that transforms key insights from great nonfiction books into quick, easy-to-understand highlights. The reality is – everyone loves reading, but no one has the time. Blinkist fills this learning gap and makes acquiring new knowledge effortless.